bursarius

Forms

bursārius m (genitive bursāriī or bursārī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin bursa (“purse”) + -ārius.^[1][2] Niermeyer gives its source as byrsa,^[3] and a tenth-century glossary has the spelling ⟨byrsarius⟩.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is in a tenth-century glossary, where byrsarius is explained by an Old English word for a leather-worker.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In medieval England it named a purse-maker, as in a London Pipe Roll of 1166 and in the London crafts of the 14th and 15th centuries.^[4] It also meant a keeper of the purse, often with a hint of greed: Judas is called bursarius,^[4] and Köbler records the sense “taker of bribes” from about 1190.^[2]

From about 1200 it was the title of the treasurer of a monastery, who appears beside the cellarer among the witnessing monks in charters,^[5][3] and later of the treasurer of a college.^[4] English bursar comes from it through Anglo-Latin burser.^[6]

Timeline

• 10th century – A glossary has byrsarius for a leather-worker.^[4]
• 1166 – A Pipe Roll entry for London uses it of a purse-maker.^[4]
• c. 1190 – It is used of a person who takes bribes.^[2]
• 1200 – A charter from Württemberg names a monk who is the bursarius among its witnesses.^[5][2]
• 1580s – English has bursar for the treasurer of a college.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A leather-worker.^[4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A purse-maker.^[4][5][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) A keeper of the purse, implying avarice; one who takes bribes.^[4][2][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A treasurer or bursar of a monastery or college.^[5][3][4]

Related words

• bursa
• bursiformis
• English bursar

Usage notes

The MLW records a doubtful second noun bursarius “short summary” in Menko's chronicle, where an editor's conjecture breviarios seems to give the right reading.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com